It isnt near as impresive as making 8 straight finals in the west but its still impressive man. It means something. If you believe kobe is better than lebron then thats fine and a respectable opinion that i differ on but it is completely laughable to say kobe was the man on those first 3 (especially 1st 2) titles. Kobe was a great robin but definitely a robin at that point of his career. Shaq was on another stratosphere at that point. He was head and shoulders the best player of the nba then.
I'm not sure what you think the relevance of that is. If anything Kobe running off all of the talent on the roster should have inflated his numbers, like they did in 05-06 (at least the raw numbers, efficiency was still garbage), not have the numbers drop off in the first season of his career where he was the best player on the team. Pau doesn't have to be in that conversation to have been the catalyst for the Lakers starting to win again. If not for the Lakers trading for Pau (because no decent FA in their right mind would ever decide to play on a team with a guy like Kobe) then Kobe never even makes the finals again till he demands a trade and ends up on a stacked team to carry him. The "ringz" BS is just laughable. Also, while Pau isn't in the conversation for all time greatest big men, Kobe isn't realistically in the conversation for all time guards either.....now some people try to put him in that conversation, but he certainly doesn't belong there.
CLUTCH KOBE NOT EVEN CLOSE...KOBE TOOK THE LAST SHOT LEBRON DIDN'T IN BOTH THEIR PRIMES TO GET THEIR CHAMPIONSHIPS
the fact that nba greats and personnel talk about him as being one of the greats means a whole lot more than a few regular fans sitting behind a computer saying hes not
Good for you. I'm not going to say that there aren't people out there who don't value flash over substance and I fully understand how people like that would be a fan of Kobe's.....but people who think in backwards manners like that really aren't my problem no matter who they are. Every person to ever play in the NBA could all agree that Matt Bonner was the greatest player in NBA history and that argument wouldn't gain any credibility with me and it's the same with the Kobe BS.
They are similar in that there is absolutely no case to be made that either are all time great players.
If you are following along you'll know that I wasn't comparing their level of play to each other. I was saying that the only comparison is that neither player has any argument as one of the all time greats....because neither of them have any argument for being one of the all time greats. Sure it's more obvious about Bonner than Kobe, but it's just as accurate.
Lebron will have greater impact to the game. Let Lebron lead a team of scrubs he will lead them to playoffs every year, and yes that include in the western conference whereas kobe wont be able to do so. But when the game is on the line, you cant trust Lebron. Kobe will be more trusted in the tense situation. Conclusion, both players cant lead their team to the championship without another star/s. Lebron needs clutch player like Wade and Irving to close the game. Kobe needs impact player like Shaq even Gasol (game7 vs Boston) to help him so he can cruise and the save the best for last.
But we all know the eastern conference has been a joke. If the rockets played in the east we'd be in the finals every year too. Lebron knows this & saw a opportunity to stack the deck with a superteam every few years. Its a cakewalk if you have a superior roster. Means nothing Shaq was a untamed beast, through 3 quarters. Ppl forget his inability to hit ft's made him a liability down the stretch. Kobe was the one who made the plays to win games. Without Kobe the Lakers dont win a ring. Batman & Robin? More like Batman & a young Superman. Lebron collectively had more talent than Kobe ever had in his championship runs
LOL, is nobody going to crucify this hakeemthanoob for his epic failure for listing Ralph Sampson as a teammate of Olajuwon in 89-94?
I do remember him. He wasn't better than Odom either. No player on the team Harden's first year here was better than Odom either.
Kinda like SA was up a possession in G6 before Allen's shot? It was the shot that ended the Finals. And after he hit it he got a steal and made both FT's to put them up 6. So throw that LeBron ain't clutch garbage out the window.
No one would ever trade a prime Shaq for Wade AND Bosh or Irving AND Love. And honestly, plenty likely wouldn't trade Shaq for all four of them.
So, I have my own opinion, but, i'll align it with MJ, who said the exact same thing 4 years ago when addressed with this question. Lebron is a better player than Kobe Bryant, period. But, 5 is better than 3, right now.
